F15Rules

I think you're handling it all very well Steve!!🤣😊😁

Dave

For planets I'd take the F10 refractor over an F6 every time.

Assuming both scopes are properly mounted, with the longer scope you have the following advantages:

- easier to get higher magnifications, with longer focal length eyepieces, for more comfortable, extended viewing, making it easier to pick up fine detail - and no Barlow needed

- better contrast leading to superior views with darker sky background

- more depth of focus, making it easier to get sharp focus "snap" at high powers

An F6 refractor is normally intended for Astro Photography (AP) or widefield, low power views. I have a nice 80mm F6 achromat which gives lovely wide, low power views, but is not at all great at anything over c x75 magnification. Your FPL53 will do better, Martin, but IMHO it won't compete with a good ED F10 doublet for observing planets - it's not what it was designed for..🙂

Dave

Well, based on those daytime shots, you have excellent optics in that scope, really sharp and great colour, and virtually no CA either!

Tak or not, that's a great scope!👍

Personally, that complete package seems good value today for what you get.

Yes, I'd advise FLO if possible to offer the finder as part of the package..if it were shipped with the rest of the package a small discount could be offered, and the shipping charge could be eliminated as it would be shipped within the cost of the rest of the outfit.

Finally, if that finder bracket is the same dimensions as a real Tak 30mm one, I think a Skywatcher 30mm RACI finder would fit it...SO much easier to use than a straight through one!☺️👍

Dave

13 hours ago, neil phillips said:

 

13 hours ago, neil phillips said:

I remember them well.  A certain standard of quality. Nice catch. Was it ebay ?

 

Hi Neil,

No, I bought it from an astro forum..to be honest I think I'm done with eBay now...too many scams, too many dictatorial eBay edicts. the latest one being their threat to stop me selling (not buying) if I don't give them my bank details for processing payments, instead of the PayPal system which I've used without problems for 15 years. It's a simple con to take most of the PayPal fee, add it to their eBay fees, and then only pay you within 4 working days rather than within minutes with PayPal (if the buyer pays promptly.

I don't respond well to threats from large online US companies!

I also think that eBay are in terminal decline..my.grown kids hardly use it, preferring Gumtree and Facebook marketplace, and eBay are clearly more interested in online retail sellers than ordinary folks like us..

Rant Over! 👍😁

Dave

Hi Tim,

Nice to hear from you!

I'm away at the moment but am pretty confident I can clean them up a good deal.

The 5mm I bought from you did clean nicely with some Baader Wonder fluid and has since given me some nice high power views.

I did look at the SP102 lens but decided against any serious intervention but rather to have Es Reid look at it...thankfully he was able to diagnose and rectify the problem with the optics. He adjusted the focuser and did improve it, but it's still rough in places so I will look more closely at it when time allows...I'm wondering if some of the teeth on the R&P rack are worn...

Dave

Thanks Mark, yes they do look nice together..😊

Dave

Thanks Stu..

Yes, the Unitron mounts were excellent, super engineering, with excellent wooden tripods too..actually over engineered for the otas if anything?

I sold the Altaz head to an SGL member a good while back, but kept the tripod as I like them so much, and it was going to be used/is used with my 80mm F6 widefield achromat, which it suits well.

I've really put the SP102M on it temporarily, as I think the weight and length of the Vixen is a little too much for optimum stability.

I might look to swap/part ex for a beefier tripod for the SP102  at some point..

Regarding your Telementor (wonderful scope), I do hope you don't sell that and buy a Unitron..IMHO most Unitron otas weren't as good as their mounts (I know I'd get lynched over the pond for saying that!!😟🤣).

I speak from experience though. I've owned 3 114s (60mm) and my Carton 60mm F12 comfortably bests all of them. I also owned a 4" F15 in the 1980s which had a truly fantastic equatorial mount with it: I had the objective tested and I think the tester's description of it was "unremarkable"!🤔😟..apart from control of CA (being F15), it certainly wasn't as good an objective as a good modern achromatic lens such as TAL, SP102, or Lyra Optics.

I honestly think the Telementor delivers more pleasing views than practically any other 60mm class achromats I've looked through..with the possible exception of the old Pentax J60, another beauty.😊..and of course the Tak FC60, but that's not an achro...😊

Dave

2 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Hi Dave, 

  Well it looks really good I know you can get those Berlebach ones and I would need a more substantial tripod to carry the EQ5 and the Meade 127mm but it would be lighter than the EQ6 Tripod I have now. 

Paul 

Paul,

If I were you I'd put up a wanted ad for an old Vixen or Tal wooden tripod..a tatty one might be offered quite cheaply and can soon be restored with a few hours TLC..👍

Dave

42 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Love those tripods love one of those for my EQ5. 

Hi Paul,

It's actually an old Unitron tripod which I sanded back and treated with Danish Oil. It originally came with a Unitron 114 60mm F15 frac like the one shown below..

Dave

3 minutes ago, globular said:

Like the colour coded bike  

 

Yep, it's a "Takabika" 😁😁..

Dave

Nice old Vixen SP102M F10 achromat..

It had some optical issues which have now been sorted, courtesy of Es Reid, a real optics genius and gentleman.

If you're interested you can read more here: 

Shown in photos with my FS128 which I've just had serviced and optics cleaned, again by Es Reid.

During a short test session last night I got up to 468x on Epsilon Lyrae with the Tak using a Vixen LV5mm eyepiece..

I could only just get the two pairs into the FOV at that power (the LV5 only has a 45 degree fov, but is very sharp), but was presented with two very clear bullseye's. The FS128 is just a delight to use🤗👍.

Two very different, but enjoyable refractors.

Dave

Vixen objective after cleaning and realignment..

The Tak lens now looks again like it did when I first got it😊

1 hour ago, Mr Spock said:

Lovely scope. There’s just something ‘right’ about long tube refractors. 

Proper scopes Michael!

I actually quite like how the Vixen, being an achromat, shows a bluish-white Vega..in the old, pre-apo frac days of my youth, "bluish- white" was a common and normal way of describing stars like Vega, Rigel and Deneb!😁

Dave

10 hours ago, A McEwan said:

Congratulations on another proper long pointy telescope, Dave! I look forward to reading your Forst Light report!   

Ant

Thanks Ant..it'll probably be a while until I can give the Vixen a good session due to holidays and the short nights, but the first good peek last night was very pleasing..

Dave

8 minutes ago, Saganite said:

Another beautiful telescope rescued and returned to the fold.....nice one Dave, congratulations...

Thanks Steve👍😊

I had both FS128 and the Vixen out last night at 11.30pm for c45 minutes.. lovely and steady skies, but not very dark!

Took a couple of shots of them together, both pointing at Epsilon Lyrae, and both split beautifully at c100x (Vixen LV 5mm). 

The Tak image was so pure, "photographic"...but the Vixen also gave a very sharp although dimmer, view. I'm well pleased!😊

Dave

Thanks John..

Actually, it's only 4 scopes in total, the Tak FS128, the Vixen F10, Carton 60mm F12 and Long Perng (like Revelation) 80mm F6 widefield which could be moving on as I'm trying to limit myself to 3 scopes..

I imagine your own stable is more than 3 John🤔😁?

Dave

Cheers Ant, I confess...I'm a sucker for long tubes!👍

Dave

19 minutes ago, John said:

Lovely looking scope Dave

Like you I drooled over the SP102M's back in the 1980's. I did manage to get a used one (branded Bresser) eventually and really enjoyed owning it - probably because I'd had to wait a long time to get it !

Yours looks like it's the same vintage as my ED102SS judging by the labelling and colour scheme.

 

 

 

Thanks John😊. I don't actually know exactly how old the scope is, I'm guessing 30 ish years?

I always loved the Vixen logo and the "Made in Japan" stickers...added a certain classy look to the OTA?😊.

Es felt the lens is of "good" quality..his comments were "slightly over corrected at the edge and slightly under corrected in the centre but overall about right..Small amount of colour only to be expected. A good lens and wonderful for the price paid"

I'm happy as Es really does know his optics!

Dave

Are you sure it's not you with the handle thing, Jeremy??😁

I recently acquired sight unseen an old Vixen SP102M classic achromat..

Back in the 1980s and early 90s, the Vixen SP102M was an aspirational refractor for people like me (a child of the 1960s). It was a good quality, made in Japan 102mm F10 achromat, at a time when Sir Patrick Moore, RIP, famously advised any budding astronomer that "serious" telescopes started with a 4" refractor or a 6" reflector.

The Vixen 4 inchers were initially distributed by Orion Optics, who also offered their own built reflectors on the famous Vixen SP/GP mounts. I used to drool over these scopes in the astronomy press back then, but I was earning about £35 -£45 a week in the early 1980s, and so the Vixen setup of SP102M OTA mated with a Vixen SP mount came in at between £600-700, and was simply out of reach.

Some years later they began to come up used at more affordable prices and in the past 15 -20 years I've owned a number of Vixen scopes, the two best by far being ED103s, truly excellent scopes and I've also owned a couple of SP102M's, both fine achromats.

I saw this one for sale cheap, but with serious lens issues according to the seller. Earlier this week, as I was taking my Tak to have it's doublet professionally cleaned by Es Reid, I took the Vixen OTA with me on the off chance that Es could do something with it..I was delighted that he was able to see quickly that the lenses had somehow been flipped around so they were in the wrong configuration: Es corrected this, gave the lens a clean all round, fettled the focuser and it now seems to be working perfectly on a daytime test.

There are two tiny clamshells at the edge of one element, but they are so tiny they don't seem to affect the views at all..I may just leave them, or I may blacken them carefully, but only if the views seem compromised, which I doubt.

The tube itself is in very clean condition for its age, apart from the odd scratch, and it is now sitting happily on my old GP mount.

Hoping for a first light soon. Been a good week with my Tak lens now gleaming and the old Vixen as a nostalgic, fun achromat which should provide some lovely views😊.

Dave

2 minutes ago, AdeKing said:

Managed a very quick glimpse through the TAL100RS and Baader Ceramic Wedge just before 11:00.

Poor mobile image below.  Glad I got to see something though.

Not poor at all Ade! Great sharply defined edge of the moon👍☺️.

Look what appeared here at 12.22pm..yep, todays first sight of blue sky..about 15 minutes too late!!

Time for another Latte...

Southern Lincolnshire Wolds.. not a cloud in the sky yesterday, all day, now the complete opposite!

Ah, well, there is solace in a home made Latte (with sprinkles!)

Dave

50 minutes ago, Stu said:

It’s teasing me now!

What kind of filter is that you're using Stu??😁😂

Dave

Nice report Grant, detailed and well written👍🙂.

Regarding post session care of your scope, I'd strongly recommend leaving covers off overnight to allow the natural drying off process to be completed. This is, I suspect, more important for refractors, with their objectives having air spaced elements, but it's a fact that moisture and any optics don't mix..

Regarding the next step in your eyepiece collection, at the 10mm step and an affordable price, I'd recommend the 10mm BCO (Baader Classic Ortho) - unless you need to wear glasses to observe.

They are extremely sharp across the (fairly narrow) field. Contrast is also excellent (good for your faint fuzzies😁), and your barlow should also work well with the 10mm, to give you a 5mm for very good nights (and for splitting doubles!).

If you are wanting to view extended objects that won't fit into the narrow field of view, the BST range do offer a nice 60 degree field which is a good deal wider than the Ortho.

As has already been said, don't let the light nights put you off trying higher magnification..the higher powers actually darken the sky background very noticeably, and often make fainter and diffuse targets stand out better.

Keep those reports coming!👍😊

Dave